At 105, Southbridge great-grandmother exercises daily and follows the Sox

SOUTHBRIDGE — Alexandra Malisory and three generations of family behind her will be headed to Foxwoods Resort Casino Wednesday night to celebrate her 105th birthday.

Ms. Malisory's affinity for slots machines, the Red Sox and dairy products are still going strong.

Among the gifts the family will present her with is a citation from Gov. Deval L. Patrick, who congratulated Ms. Malisory on her milestone birthday.

Asked the secret to her longevity, the native of Voskopoje, Albania, said she often eats cheese and yogurt. If she doesn't have feta cheese and toast for breakfast, "I'm no good," she concedes.

Daughter and housemate Loretta Meagher said her mother and father tended sheep in the mountains. They never consumed beef, but always goat milk and veal.

Mrs. Meagher said taking care of her mother isn't hard because she is self-sufficient and independent.

"We have a stair lift for her because she maintains her own room (upstairs)," the daughter said.

A miniature kitchen with a microwave oven, small refrigerator and coffee maker is set up for her in an upstairs spare room.

After Ms. Malisory prepares her breakfast, she hands her daughter a basket for her to take downstairs to clean.

Ms. Malisory, who has three children, five grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, exercises "faithfully" in the morning, walking the hallway.

Evenings, Ms. Malisory uses the lift to go downstairs to join the family for dinner.

"Yes, I take her shopping and she wears me out," Mrs. Meagher said.

Ms. Malisory says her grandchildren keep her young.

"We really kept her on her toes," granddaughter Vera Larson said.

The family had to coax Ms. Malisory into being featured in the newspaper.

"I don't want anyone coming to the house," she said.

"If anything, it's bragging rights, at 105," Ms. Larson reasoned.

The granddaughter said people often ask if Ms. Malisory is lucid at her age. Ms. Larson routinely shows them pictures of a still-active Ms. Malisory, to which the viewer often responds, "That's not your grandmother," Ms. Larson said.

A member of St. Michael's Romanian Orthodox Church, Ms. Malisory immigrated to Southbridge in the mid-1930s.

Months before she moved here, the 27-year-old had married Spiro Malisory, a Southbridge native and longtime American Optical employee who was visiting relatives in Albania when he met Ms. Malisory. He died in 1949.

Ms. Malisory also worked at the former AO, starting in World War II, when there was a shortage of workers. She spent nearly 25 years there. Her starting wage was 50 cents an hour.

Ms. Malisory, who attended a Red Sox game in Boston when she turned 100, said she looks forward to spring training. She said she was happy about the Red Sox's third World Series title within the decade, but complained that outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury had defected to the Yankees for more money.

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